Republicans may not be thrilled with President Biden’s $1.9-trillion dollar COVID Relief Package, but Mississippi stands to receive billions of dollars if it passes, according to Governor Tate Reeves.
“My understanding is that it is much more flexible than the dollars that came in under the Cares Act. You’ll see a lot of conversations around how that needs to be spent. Most of it is earmarked for specific projects, and types of projects the Biden Administration is interested in. I think there are some opportunities for us to utilize flexible monies to invest in infrastructure.”
The Governor says it appears that the Democrats in Washington have forgotten that somebody eventually has to pay for all of this debt. “$1.9-trillion is an enormous number after last year.” He points to five different bills passed during that time–in a bipartisan way–that added up to almost $4.5 trillion dollars.
The Biden plan would provide roughly $300-million a year for two years if state leaders would agree to expand Medicaid. Mississippi is one of 12 states that didn’t expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. Mississippi’s Republican political leaders, led by Gov. Tate Reeves, have been adamantly opposed to expanding Medicaid. They maintain the state cannot afford the costs.
